Incorporating Alexa into your Smart Home

In New Jersey and New York, turning your regular home into a smart home means you’ll be able to sell it easier, use it easier and make life easier. With smart home features, you can control everything from a smartphone, tablet or computer, no matter where you are. In addition, you can control your home with voice activation, if you incorporate Alexa and other features into your system.

With 2017 being the year for smart homes, this technology is only becoming more prevalent in 2018. Predictions show that by 2020 more than 100 million light bulbs will be connected to the internet and more than 477 million smart home devices will be shipped globally.

Alexa is a very popular choice for smart homes because Alexa offers a digital assistant to make your home easier to use. When you add Alexa to the right smart home features, you’ll be able to use your smart home features through voice activation. You’ll also gain many other features through Alexa to make your smart home system complete.

What do You Get with Alexa?

There are already a lot of homes in New Jersey and New York that are smart homes. A smart home gives you plenty of power as you can control your home from an app on your smartphone, tablet or computer from anywhere you have an internet connection. However, not all smart home features go beyond this app and offer voice command.

When you add Alexa, you can simplify things because you’ll be able to speak to your smart home. For example, at bedtime, you can say, “Alexa, turn off the lights in the bedroom,” instead of getting up to flip the switch.

The key to incorporating Alexa into your smart home is getting Alexa-powered devices for your home. With the combination of the Echo app for Alexa and Alexa, you can incorporate this type of voice command into your smart home.

You’ll need to enable all your smart devices with the Alexa app to get it set up and give you the full features of a smart home with Alexa. You’ll still be able to control everything from anywhere you have an internet connection since you will have full control of Alexa from anywhere.

Powering your Entire New Jersey or New York Home with Alexa

Now, in order to power your home with Alexa and a smart home system, you will need to invite Alexa in. For most, this means buying the Amazon Echo or the Echo Dot Smart Speaker. Either one will work, but you will only have a certain amount of range with just one of these devices. While you can control the device with your smartphone anywhere, the voice command will be limited to the room you choose to keep Alexa in.

However, you can power every room of your home with Alexa, by getting multiple devices. Choosing to put an Echo in each room will give you the ability to control smart lights, a smart thermostat, smart blinds and all your other smart home features in that room. In addition, you can use Alexa’s built-in features, such as playing music, answering questions and more.

The reason Alexa is the right choice for your smart home system is the price. For the same price as getting Google’s Siri Assistant, you can put up three Amazon Echo devices. This means you can power more rooms with Alexa than you can with Siri for the same price.

Making Sure You Have Great Wi-Fi

Since Alexa works with the Wi-Fi network in your home, you want to make sure you have incredible Wi-Fi all throughout the home. There are ways to make sure your connection spreads throughout every room you want to power with Alexa. When you decide to set up a smart home system, make sure you also set up your Wi-Fi network to support the system. In New Jersey and New York, there are a number of Internet providers who can help you setup the optimal Wi-Fi network. If you need advice on what to ask for, please reach out to us at 973-335-3931.

What Can Alexa Really Do?

With so many smart home features and choices out there, it’s not always easy to figure out what Alexa can do for you. You can do so much with a smart home system without Alexa and even more with her. Some of the things she can do in your home include:

Power your Lights

Lock or Unlock your Doors

Control your Television

Control your Thermostat

Play Music Through Speakers

Control your Smart Air Conditioner

Control Anything from a Wemo Outlet

You want to make sure you have the right devices to use Alexa with, but as long as your smart devices work with her, you will be able to control them with Alexa.

Choosing the right smart door locks and lights is certainly a good start. Specific smart light bulbs and smart door locks will work with Alexa. These two features allow you to control lights and locks all throughout the house. Give us a call if you need more details on which smart devices work best with Alexa 973-335-3931.

Some smart TVs and TV hubs will allow you to control your TV through Alexa, as well. You can even use her to power on your gaming systems if they are connected to the right hub.

Smart thermostats will allow you to control your home’s HVAC system much better. With the right smart thermostat, you can control it with Alexa. There are several well-known options that are Alexa compatible and will allow you to do so much with just the sound of your voice.

If you choose the right speaker system for your home, you can even control the sound coming from those speakers with Alexa. Sonos speaker and a few other options will work very well with Alexa and allow you to play music, turn it up, turn it down, turn it off and even change channels, skip songs and more.

When you use the Wemo Outlet or another smart outlet with Alexa, you can control devices outside of your smart home system. This outlet will allow you to do basic things, such as power on or power off whatever is plugged into the outlet.

Having a smart home system installed provides plenty of benefits for New Jersey and New York residents. However, adding Alexa to your system will boost those benefits to a completely new level. It’s best to have a professional install your entire system, set it up and show you how to use it properly. With the help of a professional smart home installer, you can easily incorporate Alexa into your smart home and gain the amazing benefits of voice activation, voice control, and a digital assistant right in your home. Give us a call to learn more 973-335-3931.